The South Florida Bulls are adrift right now. Blessed to be located in a region with lots of local talent to recruit they were once on a steep trajectory, led by program founding head coach Jim Leavitt. It may seem hard to fathom right now, but back in 2007, they were ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP poll. A few years later they transitioned to Skip Holtz at coach and the program began a process of steady erosion.
The Hilltoppers have a chance to really make a name for themselves as they prepare for the 2015-2016 NCAA Fotball season. They had their chances last season, but couldn’t do enough to make a splash in the conference. Still they essentially ruined Marshall’s season with a 67-66 overtime thrilling win.
Despite some bright spots, the Wyoming Cowboys had a disappointing 2014 campaign. Finishing the season with a 4-8 record, the Cowboys had big wins over conference foes Air Force and Fresno State, the eventual winners of the Mountain West’s “West” division.
With defensive end Eddie Yarbrough coming back for his junior season, the team will have an immediate boost going into the 2015 season.
After a 2014 season to remember, the Air Force Falcons are looking to take the conference by storm yet again during the 2015 NCAA Football Seans. The triple option offense has worked wonders for Troy Calhoun and company in the recent past, and this year, they will get to use it with an added threat that opponents are not used to.
The run-first Falcons are ready to see if opposing defenses will be able to keep up to their offensive onslaught this year.
Another new era is beginning in 2015 for the Colorado State Rams during the 2015 NCAA Football Season – the Mike Bobo era. With the departure of Jim McElwain to Florida after three seasons, the former Georgia Offensive Coordinator was brought in to keep the Rams on the upswing in the ever-competitive Mountain West Conference.
And seeing his resume at UGA, Rams fans should be very excited about what Bobo brings to the table.
Looking to show that their 2014 was no fluke, the Utah State Aggies will be coming out gunning for the Mountain West Conference during the 2015-16 NCAA Football Season. There were a lot of changes in the offseason for Matt Wells and company and it will be interesting to see how those changes will affect the outcomes on the football field.
After challenging Boise State for the Mountain division title, the Aggies want to prove they can take the division from the conference power Broncos.
For the Utah Utes, 2014 was a statement season. No, they didn’t challenge for the Pac-12 title or even the Pac-12 South Division title. They did, however, finally show that after 2 seasons as a doormat in the conference that they could win some games in the always difficult Pac-12.
They’ve been out to prove they belong in a major conference after leaving the Mountain West and they finally made their stand. The question now is whether or not they can do it again during the 2015 NCAA Football Season…
The Mountain West Conference defending champion Boise State Broncos are back during the 2015 NCAA Football Season and looking to add more accolades to their resume. After a stellar 10-2 regular season campaign, Boise State took out Fresno State to take the conference and then Arizona in their bowl game.
This season, things could get even better for the Broncos – if you could imagine that. With a huge number of starters returning, Bryan Harsin and company are ready to take their game to the next level.
Despite going 2-10 last season, the Colorado Buffaloes are fully expecting to show their true potential during the 2015-16 NCAA Football Season. After being bitten by the injury bug and the always-transitioning coaching staff, Colorado has struggled to not only stay relevant, but to win multiple games in a season.
This season, they look beyond that and hope that those issues are behind them so that they can finally put everything together.
It was another rough offseason for the SEC, which put forth a poor showing during bowl season, and for the second consecutive season, failed to win the national championship. The conference darling, Alabama, even endured a second consecutive loss in its bowl game, even if it was to eventual national champion Ohio State.
The 2014 season was a bit of a nightmare for the Big 12. The conference had two teams emerge as candidates for the inaugural College Football Playoff, but that left the conference brass in a pickle when it came to naming a conference champion as both finished with identical 11-1 records.
The New Mexico Lobos enter the 2015 NCAA Football Season coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2014. They’ll look to take advantage of a favorable schedule in their search for a Bowl Game.
Other than new member Navy there is probably not a program as rich in football history as the SMU Mustangs. It may be a long time ago but the Mustangs used have players like Eric Dickerson and Craig Jameson campus in the days of the Pony Express. Sure it led to the death penalty but it was also one hell of a ride.
For what seemed like an entire decade, the USC Trojans were the dominant force in the Pac-12 during the early 2000s. But since that reign of terror from the Southern California institution, the conference has seen the Oregon Ducks and Stanford Cardinal win the past six titles dating back to 2009.
The Buffalo Bulls have a new head coach in Lance Leipold. Leipold had tons of success at Wisconsin Whitewater. He hopes to bring some of that success to a Buffalo program that hasn’t been very good in recent years despite having some high level players (Khalil Mack and Branden Oliver). Will it take time or will he win right away?
A few short years ago, Miami (Ohio) was one of the MAC powers, but that seems so long ago. Miami went 0-12 in 2013 and 2-10 last year. They return only four starters on offense and eight starters on defense, though that could be considered a good thing since the team has been so bad in recent years. Can Chuck Martin get this team going in the right direction?
